1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an inspection/detection systems for use in forensic applications and more particularly to an inspection/detection system which has a laser module and which is not only portable and lightweight so that the inspection/detection system may be utilized at field sites, but which also does not require skilled personnel to operate thereby reducing the complexity and operating cost thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In OE Reports, which is the International Newspaper of Optical and Optoelectronic Applied Science and Engineering, Number 49, published by the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers in Jan. 1988 beginning on page 1 there is an article, entitled "Laser Detection: Scotland Yard's High Tech Crime Fighting Techniques", by K. E. Creer. Creer described Scotland Yard's use of ultraviolet light and fluorescence. U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,408, entitled Fluorescent Vapor Fumes for Use with a Self-contained Fingerprinting Kit, issued to William P. Morton on Mar. 12, 1985, teaches a vapor phase activator pad which produces fluorescent fumes for use in fuming an object, which is suspected of containing in an enclosed area latent fingerprints. An ultraviolet light is shined on the fumed object to expose the latent fingerprints.
Creer also described Scotland Yard's use of the Neodymium:YAG laser system. U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,789, entitled YAG Laser System, issued to Richard T. Daly on Mar. 26, 1985, teaches a reliable, lightweight low cost YAG laser system which includes a resonator cavity which is disposed inside a housing, a power supply unit and a cooling system for cooling the resonator cavity. The power supply unit is electrically coupled to the resonator cavity. It is unlikely that the power supply is disposed inside the housing.
An inspection/detection system recently marketed by Cooper LaserSonics Inc. is directed to forensic applications. The inspection/detection system includes a laser system and is adapted for use at field sites. However, the inspection/detection system is relatively heavy weighing approximately 120 pounds and consists of at least three separate subassemblies which must be reassembled at the field site before it can be utilized. The inspection/detection system needs frequent adjustments and cleaning and requires the services of skilled maintenance personnel thereby adding to the operating costs thereof.
Creer further described an inspection/detection system which includes a laser module and which is a portable and lightweight. The inspection/detection system also includes a power supply unit, a heat exchanger, a cooling fan, a focusing lens, an optical fiber connector and a shutter assembly, a flexible optical fiber cable and a remote control handpiece with beam control optics.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,902, entitled Modular Laser Printing System, issued to William F. Hug and Leonard C. De Benedict on Oct. 28, 1980, teaches a laser printing system wherein the laser module is replaceable. However, the laser printing system itself and the laser module is not portable in the sense that the laser printing system is not designed to be moved to different sites. Argon laser systems have found wide use in lightweight printers. Argon laser systems have not been used in a stand-alone inspection/identification system. Furthermore, the wavelength of light energy which the argon laser system produces causes latent materials, such as finger prints and hair strands to luminesce so that they become detectable. Argon laser system have not been used in a non-stationary, field environment.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,471,215, entitled Fiber Laser Device Provided with Long Flexible Energy-Directing Probe-like Structure, issued to Elias Snitzer on Oct. 7, 1969, teaches a fiber laser device which includes a laser which generates light energy and a thin, long, flexible readily manipulatable fiber for redirecting the laser energy as a beam of small controlled size onto hard-to-reach parts of body cavities.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,403, entitled Fiber Optic Laser Illuminators, issued to Max Epstein and Michael E. Marhic on Mar. 8, 1977, teaches an object-illuminating and imaging system which utilizes, in combination, laser beam as a light source and an optical fiber as a light transmitter. Film may be used usually to reproduce illuminated object.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,114,112, entitled Apparatus and Method for Efficient Synthesis of Laser Light, issued to Max Epstein, Michael E. Marhic and Samuel E. Schacham on Sept. 12, 1978, teaches an apparatus synthesizing laser light which is characterized by a plurality of discrete wavelengths.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,681,396, entitled High Power Laser Energy Delivery System, issued to Marshall G. Jones on July 21, 1987, teaches a quartz optical fiber to a spot having a size smaller than the fiber diameter and with a beam cone angle less than twice the numerical aperture of the fiber. The fiber transmits the light energy from Neodymium:YAG laser system to emerge at the other end where the light energy is collimated and focused onto material to be processed.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,647,275, entitled Identification System using Reference Beam Coded Holograms, issued to John H. Ward on Mar. 7, 1972, teach an identification system which identifies persons, articles, documents. U.S. Pat. No. 3,704,949, entitled Method and Apparatus for Personal Identification, issued to Carlton E. Thomas and Gary D. Cochran on Dec. 5, 1972, teaches an apparatus which creates an encoded fingerprint card which consists of a hologram of a fingerprint. U.S. Pat. No. 4,627,068, entitled Fiber Optics Interface for a Dye Lasrr Oscillator and Method, issued to Steve A. Johnson on Dec. 2, 1986, teaches a dye laser oscillator. U.S. Pat. No. 3,716,301, entitled Fingerprint Identification Apparatus, issued to Henry John Caulfield and Dean Roger Perkins on Feb. 13, 1973, teaches a coherent optical processor fingerprint identification apparatus in which identification is established by correlating an optical beam pattern representative of the finger to be identified with a prerecorded Fourier transform spatial filter of the fingerprint. The aforementioned patents disclose fingerprint identification techniques. The laser systems which are utilized are known as stationary laser systems in that the laser systems are fixed and are not for use in the field. In forensic applications, this restriction severely limits the use of a laser system for on-site crime investigation.